Blood Moon Rising
by Marintarin
Summary: "He wouldn't meet her eyes, he couldn't. If he dared to gaze into those blue eyes he would break, and the world around him was already cracking like ice on a river"
1. Chapter 1: Memories and Regrets

Author Note:  
Hey all! I've actually been a long standing fan member, I just haven't published any stories on this account for a long time But, I was playing Breath of the Wild and was like "this is just too good to not write something about" so here we are. A couple notes about this fan fic: I like to use a lot of flashbacks in my stories, and any memory of flashback will be in italics.  
_

Blood Moon Rising  
Chapter 1: Memories and Regrets

" _You're not Immortal, Link…"_

 _Link could feel the heat from Death Mountain burning his skin, he felt as if he might catch fire himself._

 _He lay on his back, the hot rocks pressing into his skin as he felt as if the skin on his stomach was being ripped open, the wound was burning "No doubt the blade was dipped in poison, bastards" Link said through gritted teeth._

 _Link's head was beginning to spin, he took one last glance at Zelda and noticed her eyes were shut tightly and lips pursed in concentration as she performed an undoubtedly complicated healing spell. Seconds passed before Link began to feel cool relief as though the the skin on his abdomen knitted itself back together._

 _"You could have died" Zelda said sternly._

 _"Could have, would have, should have" Link replied bluntly._

 _Zelda stood up and looked desperate, "These attacks are becoming more frequent in nature" she said fear rising in her voice "I'm afraid of what the future holds for Hyrule…. What if we're witnessing the return of Calamity Gannon"_

 _Link said nothing in response, simply stared at her, though he wouldn't dare to admit it, Link was often times caught breathless by the Princesses' beauty. The way light reflected in her blue eyes and made them look like there was icy fire in them._

 _Link reached for her hand, but it disintegrated it, turning to ash through the flames of Death Mountain, Link could feel himself burning the fire drying the salty sweat of his skin…._

 _Something was pulling his hand, another creature ashy and consumed with fire meaning to drag him back to its own fiery hell._

 _Link resisted, he had to find Zelda he reached for his weapon, but found it turned to ash in his hand. He was finished._

 _The monster, seemingly expressionless, stabbed him in the abdomen with its putrid claws right in the area Zelda had just healed._

 _Pain exploded through his body, far greater than what he had just experienced. This was no normal wound, already his world was fading… "Zelda…" he managed to choke out before the demon continued pulling Link into his den of fire and nightmares.  
_

"Sir, are you okay?"

Link awoke with a start, and found his hand was being pulled by a young woman in an attempt to rouse him.

It took him a minute to realize where he was. The Akkala Stable. Of course, he had stopped here to recharge and make a bite to eat, he hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep by the fire.

Link sat up slightly dazed, realizing it was all a dream, but the sharp pain in his abdomen begged the differ, Link glanced down only to see his undershirt covered in bright crimson. Blood.

"You're hurt, aren't you?" The girl asked with concern. Her blue eyes looked exactly like hers. Like Zelda's, filled with icy fire.

"No, I'm fine, it's an old wound" Link replied for the first time "…Really." He added after noticing her disbelief.

"Let me see" She insisted "Old wounds don't bleed" she added after he hesitated.

Link gave in and removed his shirt over his head, exposing his many scars and a dragon tattoo along his ribs. His stomach was covered in blood, and one of his scars was bright red but not open.

"I'm never seen anything like that" the girl replied, "does this happen frequently?"

"It's done it before, I told you it was nothing"

"The girl expertly dabbed at the blood with a white cloth she had gotten from inside the stable. Link noted an antiseptic smell and assumed it wasn't just water. After she had finished, Link shrugged his shirt back on and stood up to find his cloak to put over top. The night had grown cold despite the fire.

"You might as well spend the night at this point. Only a few more hours until morning" The girl told him, Link hesitated to accept her offer.

"My name is Leto, she replied. I run the stable here".

"Thanks" Link replied.

A strange quiet had enveloped the two, Link realized the night was desperately quite; not even the howl of a wolf broke the dead silence.

"So, what's your story, wary traveler?" She asked with a smirk. Was he imagining things, or was she suddenly standing closer? Link took advantage of the observation and stepped imperceptibly closer to her. He could feel the heat from her body at this distance "My story is kind of complicated" he replied "I don't think you'd have the time to listen".

The two were exceptionally close to each other and like a magnet drawn to metal their mouths became intertwined with each other's. Link was surprised but too attracted to her to stop. She showed no sign of wanting to stop.

His hands found her waist and slipped under the thin shirt she was wearing, while her hands undid his belt.

_

Link awoke to midday light streaming into his eyes. Leto laid next to him fully dressed.

"Took you long enough to wake up" She said sarcastically.

Link didn't respond, but instead became distracted by the feeling of the young woman's finger tracing the tattoo on his ribs, he playfully grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her fingers.

In the light of day, he took note of her features. Delicate and pretty, but there was something hard about her expression. She looked familiar, Link realized, and he couldn't judge if the familiarity was based on her likeness to Zelda or something else. They had the same eyes, this girl and Zelda, Link realized with a pang.

Thinking of Zelda was painful to Link and something he didn't feel like sharing with this stranger.

Link flipped his legs over the edge of the straw mattress and pulled on his pants and belt.

"I need to get going" Link told her empathetically, "I need to get to Kakariko Village and I'm a long ways off".

Leto eyed him and got out of bed herself "The company was nice" she said standing next to him, "I'll see you again sometime".

Link eyed her and noticed there was a peculiar look in her eyes, it was like this woman knew him and it made him feel unsettled.

The sun glinted off of her auburn hair and turned it to gold as he saddled his horse and said goodbye. For the first time he noticed a thin pendant on her delicate neck, a ruby stone setting in the middle of an eye shaped pattern caught the light and reflected like a small inferno. The Sheikah eye.

Link said his goodbyes but felt uneasy, there was a familiarity about this girl, and he wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not.

 _"I'll see you again sometime."  
_  
Her words sounded so certain and, how could they? She didn't know him - he was a random stranger passing by. Spending the night with her had temporarily filled the loneliness he'd been feeling, but it hadn't been able to erase the pang of loss he'd felt about Zelda.

 _"No_." Link refused to let his mind wander to Zelda. Zelda was the Princess of Hyrule – nearly queen – her father was ill, and he, Link was a servant of the Royal Family. Certainly, he was one of the top guards, he was requested by the King himself to be the personal guard and watchman of Princess Zelda herself. It was also a perk that the two were childhood friends.

But their relationship consisting of anything more would be scandalous to the Royal Family and Link would become a social pariah as a best-case scenario.

Right now, Link was en route to Kakariko Village to meet with the Sheikah based on orders from the King himself, there was more evil activity as of late and Zelda had been growing more concerned regarding the cause.

Link didn't actually see the benefit of traveling all the way to the Sheikah village to discuss negotiations; if a Calamity Ganon was returning, there was very little that could be done. Though Link understood the distress the Princess was under, she herself was due to be married to the Prince of Holodrum, in hopes that combining Holodrum's and Hyrule's army would create an impenetrable military barrier in the event of Calamity Ganon's rise.

 _"I'm trying to protect my country, Link. Just like you've done since you were a child. I may not be a solider but that doesn't mean there aren't things I can do to help…"_

 _Link stood there staring at her coolly "No one's stopping you" he replied._

 _Zelda ran to him and stood in front of him, he wouldn't meet her gaze but she grabbed his hands at his wrists and forced him to look at her. She was quite strong._

 _"I'm in love with you" she said, "And if there was any way around this, it would be you. But there isn't"_

 _Link felt his throat tighten. "I'm in love with you"._

 _Link's hand caressed her face and his lips longed for hers, "I love you, Zelda" he mumbled and in that moment the seconds felt like eternity. Their hands grasped each other's as though it were a life line._

 _He couldn't allow the himself to be seen crying. He was a solider, and his duty was to protect his country, as well as the royal family._

 _He wouldn't meet her eyes, he couldn't. If he dared to gaze into those blue eyes he would break, and the world around him was already cracking like ice on a river._

 _Link cleared his throat, and silently disentangled Zelda's arms from his own. She released her grip, like all of her strength was gone._

 _"Your duty is to your country, as is mine" Link said, his voice devoid of emotion but, he continued, "Our expression of affection to each other was highly inappropriate given the circumstance of your engagement, please do not do it again if you wish for me to remain as your personal protection". With those last words, Link refused to meet her eyes and quietly left her room. He hadn't even recognized his own voice._

Link's mind snapped back to reality, he despised himself for being unable to stop recalling the site of their last fallout but try as he might it was irrevocably branded into his brain. But the intense smell of burning and had interrupted his thoughts.

Link whipped his head from side to side while slowing his horse, something was on fire nearby, he spotted smoke pouring from the thatched roof houses of a village up ahead.

"Fuck" he swore under his breath. He dug his heels into the side of his horse and galloped toward the black smoke.

Author Note:  
So that's it for Chapter 1.! If you couldn't tell, I kind of stick to my own creativity and just use names, so this story isn't set in any particular time frame as it could very well have elements from many of the Zelda games. I'm trying to keep it set as a Pre- Breath of the Wild timeline though, so before the events of Calamity Ganon.  
Let me know in the reviews what you guys think!


	2. Chapter 2: Smoke Signals

Blood Moon Rising  
Chapter 2: Smoke Signals

Beads of sweat rolled down Link's face and neck as he continued to dig his heels into the horse's sides, urging it to go faster.

The closer he got to the site, the more his heart sunk. He could smell the smoke, mixed with something else; something sweet and sickening.  
He pushed his horse miles upon miles of the trail, when at last the smoking remains of the village loomed a matter of yards into the distance.

 _'Deya Village'_ Link realized. Donning his cloak with the Royal Family Crest Link dismounted his stead and cautiously approached the wreckage.

Despite the overwhelming smoke that poured from the village, Link realized it was too late. The thatched roofs of many of the homes had succumbed to the fire, which brought Link to the realization of what the disgustingly sweet smell mixed with the smoke was…

"Bodies" Link whispered almost inaudibly.

The remains of charred hylians lay all over the mere two streets which consisted of Deya Village. Link desperately searched the smoldering remains for potential survivors, but he knew it was futile – He'd been a soldier long enough to know ruin when he saw it.

Dizzy from smoke Link stumbled back to his horse and continued to trek to Kakariko Village. He would need to inform the Sheikah of what happened.  
_

The rain fell in sheets outside the rippled glass windows of Hyrule Castle's Library. A Young woman was seated at a long table pouring over a script. A pile of books sat at her side, obviously deemed useless.

The young woman was so absorbed in her reading that she failed to hear the footsteps behind her "Haven't you been here long enough, Zelda? I feel as though I hardly see you!"

Zelda slammed the book with a start and abruptly stood and faced the source of the voice.  
A young man stood in front of her, well dressed and tall, his red hair curled into his pointed ears which gave him a comedic appearance.

"Randall, you startled me".

"Well, I can see that, You'd think a woman would be pleased to hear the voice of her fiancé since she refuses to spend time with him".

Though his tone was joking, Zelda could see something else behind the tone. Hurt.

"You know how stressed I've been with all of the chaos that's been happening, I'm so sorry my dear Randall".

"it's quite alright, my love" the Prince replied, it was at that moment that he took Zelda into his arms and caressed her back, trailing soft kisses down her neck.

She moaned softly into his ear. This pleased him and she knew it.

 _Blue eyes, mere inches from her own, stubborn and sky blue. Full lips pressed upon hers and the sweet smell of lavender from the garden_

 _Link held her hands above her head, straddling her body with his. Heat from their skin, and the warm sun of summer warmed them._

 _Link bit her neck softly down to her collar bone which elicited a moan from the young girl. She unbuttoned his tunic and switched positions, rolling herself on top of him._

 _Zelda traced the outline of a dragon on Link's ribs, the line of his muscles….  
She placed her mouth over his nipple and sucked it, resulting in a moan from the young soldier._

 _"Zelda…"Link began breathlessly_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _She stopped to look at him, her face mere centimeters from her own, she could feel his hand on the small of her back_

 _"I love you, Zelda…"_

 _She never responded, but kissed him instead. The kiss was full of passion and desire but there was something else present. Something that was manifesting itself in the desperate way they wanted each other, how their hands were grasping as if the other would disappear on a moment's notice…._

"You're not even paying attention to a thing I've said are you, sweetheart" Randell's prim voice brought Zelda back to reality.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so distracted lately I can't think of anything except what's happening, and I have the worst feeling that something else has happened. " Zelda broke down finally, breaking her embrace with the prince.

Randall was a lovely man, better than Zelda deserved she felt. But she would never love him. She was marrying him only out of the promise of a better defense system for Hyrule.

"Why not get some sleep?" Randall suggested, "You certainly look like you could use some".

Zelda felt the urge to snap at him but decided against it.

"I'll be in bed in a few moments, my love. You can go up now if you'd like, I'm just going to put these books back". She smiled at him sweetly but they both knew it was fake.

_

"Master Impa, I must get back to Hyrule as soon as possible and arrange an group to salvage the remains of Deya Village"

"You should stay here, Sir Link; It's unwise to travel at dark even with someone that possesses extensive training such as yourself"

Link was sitting in the long house which constituted the Sheikah's main building in Kakariko Village. Impa looked concerned, her brow furrowed, and Link swore he saw another wrinkle forming on her face.

"This isn't the only destruction that's happened, Deya Village housed many members of the Sheikah Tribe and as such many of our weapons were stored there. The Sheikah are one of the oldest race's living in Hyrule and as such we have a few secrets of our own…"

She trailed off, momentarily distracted by the water dripping through the roof. It was raining furiously outside.

She directed her attention back to Link

"We think that Calamity Ganon may be possessing people in order to get them to do his bidding. We also think that Ganon is interested in infiltrating the Sheikah tribe and using us to get into Hyrule, due to our close ties with the Royal Family, we're a target".

She added the last sentence bluntly. As if it couldn't be helped.

"If Ganon is back none of us are making it out alive" Link said, "he nearly destroyed Hyrule the last time, this time he'll be successful"

Impa looked at him sharply and leaned closer to Link

"Sir Link, Ganon has already returned, it's no longer a matter of 'if'".

_  
 _Rain pelted the ground in violent sheets, soaking the grass and turning the roads to mud._

 _A village lie ahead on the trail, warm and glowing in the midst of the mist. A traveler approached the village rain drenched cloak obscuring his face._

 _Villagers scurried about trying to take cover from the violent rain. A child curled up in the corner of her parent's stable trying to escape the pouring storm. She noticed the stranger approaching_

 _Under the refuge of the stable roof, the stranger pushed back the drenched cloak, the young child was frightened, his blue eyes frozen in fear and his small form shaking. He left out a small yelp as the stranger turned around, facing the child as though he knew of his presence_

 _His eyes were dripping blood.  
__

Author Note: Anyone want to guess who that kid is? Anyways, here was chapter two, please review and let me know what you think? Did it suck? Was it okay? Lemme know


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